Disc caddy and disc player system therefor

ABSTRACT

A disc record caddy comprises a pair of substantially flat circular covers releasably held in channels defined along the inside rim of an expandable circular ring. Spring elements bias the ring into a contracted shape to radially restrain a disc retained between the pair of covers. A platform, mounted on a base of a disc record player system, horizontally supports the caddy in an elevated position over a turntable of the system and includes means for expanding the ring to release the covers. A turntable spindle incorporates a lowering/lifting mechanism which lowers the cover nearest the turntable and the disc supported thereon onto the turntable for record playback purposes, the other cover being retained at the platform level by the radially inward extension of the land defined between the ring channels. At the termination of record playback, the disc and the supporting cover are lifted up to platform level and the ring is allowed to return to the contracted shape thereby enclosing the disc between the two covers. The expanding means and the lowering/lifting mechanism are actuated in response to the movement of a player lid.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 793,639 filed May 4, 1977.

The present invention relates generally to elements of a disc recordplayback system and particularly to a disc container (hereinafter called"caddy") and disc record player apparatus for mechanically loading andunloading a disc from such a caddy.

In certain sophisticated information recording and playback systems,information is recorded in the bottom of a smooth spiral groove on thesurface of a recording medium. High information packing densities insuch systems are achieved by having groove densities in the order offour to eight thousand groove convolutions per inch.

One example of such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,194,issued on Oct. 15, 1974, to Jon K. Clemens. Illustratively, the Clemenssystem employs a disc-shaped recording medium having video and audioinformation recorded by means of geometric variations in the bottom of asmooth spiral groove on the surface thereof. The groove is coated with alayer of conductive material which, in turn, is coated with a layer of adielectric material. During record playback, information is recoveredfrom the bottom of the groove by means of a signal pickup electrodesupported on a playback stylus mounted at one end of a pickup arm of theplayer system. The playback stylus engages the spiral groove duringplayback, and as relative motion is established between the disc and theelectrode, an electrode-disc capacitance varies in response to thegeometric variations in the bottom of the spiral groove passing beneaththe electrode. The capacitance variations are converted to electricalsignal variations by a suitable signal processing circuitry coupled tothe electrode.

One problem associated with the operation of an information recordingand playback system of the above-described type to recover the recordedinformation is the presence of dust and debris particles in variousregions of the disc groove. Playback stylus encounters with such dustand debris particles often result in the deflection of the playbackstylus out of engagement with the bottom of the groove leading tomomentary distress or loss of information signals. More severeencounters may result in the playback stylus skipping several grooveconvolutions at a time leading to the loss of a plurality of frames ofvideo information. Dust and debris particles in groove regions may alsobe responsible for locked groove incidents with the playback stylusretracing the same path. Moreover, these encounters may result in therapid wear of the disc and the signal pickup electrode (e.g., as theplayback stylus lands on the rapidly rotating disc surface after beingdeflected).

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, alleviationof the problems produced by the dust and debris particles may be had byenclosing the disc record in environmental isolation in a caddy. Withrelease of the disc from the caddy being mechanically accomplishedwithin a record player and re-load of the disc into the caddy at thetermination of record playback also being mechanically accomplishedwithin the player, disc exposure to dust and debris particles issignificantly reduced.

In further accordance with the principles of the present invention, thecaddy is designed to cooperate with a disc player system to permitplayer access to both sides of a disc record carried therein.Advantageously, player access to the disc and disc reloading into thecaddy may be effected via the mechanical movement of a player component(e.g., closing and opening of a player lid) thereby obviating the needfor a separate disc loading and reloading activation mechanism.

In an illustrative embodiment of the principles of the presentinvention, disc record protection from environmental contamination isadvantageously realized by a caddy comprising an expandable ring whichsecures a pair of substantially flat circular covers in spaced-apartrelationship to define a cavity in which a disc may be stored. The edgesof the covers are respectively received in a pair of channels definedalong the inside rim of the ring thereby firmly securing the covers andproviding a dust seal along the circumferences of the covers to protectthe disc from environmental contaminants and risk of damage duringstorage, shipping and handling.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a central landdefined between the pair of cover-receiving channels extends radiallyinwardly and serves as a ledge, when the caddy is in a horizontalposition, for supporting the upper cover when the ring is expanded torelease the lower cover.

A record player suitable, for use with the aforementioned disc caddyincludes a platform mounted on a base of the system for horizontallysupporting the caddy in an elevated position over a turntable of thesystem. Means are provided on the platform for expanding the caddy ringto a given expanded shape whereat the covers are released from the ringchannels and the upper cover is supported by the central land. The lowercover and the disc supported thereon may be dropped onto the turntablefor disc playback purposes. The illustrative embodiment of the playersystem may further comprise a lowering/lifting mechanism, which servesto gently lower the lower cover and the disc onto the turntable and alsoserves to lift the lower cover and the disc back to platform level wherethe disc record may, once again, be enclosed within the caddy.

In one prior art approach to the design of cartridges for storage ofdiscs (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,881,004), a pair of substantially flatcircular covers are shown retained in a spaced-apart relationship by arigid ring and secured thereto by means of manually releasable springcatches provided on the outside rim of the ring. In another prior artapproach (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,344,919), a disc carrying case is formedof two semi-circular sections having respective U-shaped slots along theinside rims thereof. Respective ends of the sections are hingedlyconnected so that the sections may be swung to an open position or to aclosed circular position. The respective remote ends of the sections arecoupled by means of a clasp for holding the sections in the closedposition whereat discs may be retained within the respective U-shapedslots. Semi-circular top and bottom walls may be integrally formed withthe respective sections to provide for a completely enclosed carryingcase.

Both of the aforementioned prior art approaches require manual steps forthe release of the disc records from the cartridge. In contrast, thenovel structure of the illustrated embodiment of the present inventionpermits a mechanical release of the disc record from the caddy.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a radial sectional view of a disc caddy in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the caddy of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the caddy of FIG. 1 with the ring thereof in anexpanded position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional plan view of the caddy of FIG. 1 illustrating oneembodiment of a handle provided on the retaining ring;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the handle illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating another embodiment of a handlewith lock means for the caddy of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal, cross-sectional view of the handle illustratedin FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a disc playback apparatus adapted forthe playback of disc records retained in the caddy illustrated in FIG.1;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the player illustrated in FIG. 8 with theplatform removed to show details of a ring expanding mechanism;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are sectional views of a spindle provided in the playerillustrated in FIG. 7, respectively illustrating two different sequencesin the operation thereof; and

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a ring channel which maybe provided on the platform of the player illustrated in FIG. 8.

In FIG. 1 a disc retaining caddy 11 is shown to include a pair ofsubstantially flat, circular covers 13, 15 which may be fabricated of aplastic material, such as high impact polystyrene. The edges of thecovers may be shaped as shown at 17, 19 so as not to contact the playingsuraces of a disc record 21 disposed therebetween, while providingprojecting surfaces which may grip a peripheral bead 23 and a centralportion 25 of the disc. A ring 27 is provided with a pair of channels29, 31 defined along the inside rim thereof into which channels theedges of the covers may be received. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ring27 is split, such as 33, and a handle 35, comprising a spring element,latches the end portions of the ring.

It will be appreciated that more than one disc may be retained betweenthe covers of the cartridge by increasing the spacing between thechannels 29, 31 to accommodate a plurality of disc records.

As more clearly shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the handle 35 comprises a firstmember 37 which extends radially outwardly from the outside rim of oneend of the split ring 27 and includes two forks which extend along andadjacent to the outside rim of the other end of the split ringsubstantially as shown in FIG. 4. The forks define a guideway 39 intowhich a second member 41, which radially outwardly extends from theoutside rim of the other end of the split ring is slidably received. Theradially extending surfaces of the forks respectively include a pair ofaligned slots 43 so that when the ring is assembled, a spring element 45urges the ends of the split ring the one towards the other, with thesecond member 41 in guideway 39 being visible through the slots 43. Thering 27 may be expanded by inserting a pair of pins 45, 47 through theslots 43 and moving them in opposite directions towards the respectiveends of the slots.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate another embodiment of a handle 49 whichobviates the need for any spring element, and therefore simplifies theprocess of manufacture. In FIG. 6, the handle 49 is shown to comprisetwo mating U-shaped sections 51, 53 each being integrally formed withthe outside rim of a respective end of the ring 27; with the respectiveopenings of the U-shaped sections the one facing the other. The parallellegs of each section are offset, relative to the respective ends of thering, in a complementary fashion so that when the ring 27 is contracted,the legs of the U-shaped sections will engage to provide a lateralinterlock for the handle 49. Section 51 is provided with a T-shapedmember 55 centrally projecting into the cavity thereof, which member 55cooperates with a pair of normally clamped jaws 57 attached to member53.

The relative disposition of the parts of handle 49, when the ring iscontracted as shown in FIG. 7, enables jaws 57 to latch unto thecross-bar of the T-shaped member 55, thereby securing the ring in thecontracted position.

A round aperture 59 near the base of jaws 57 enables the conical end ofa rod, having a diameter that is larger than the diameter of aperture59, when forced through the aperture, to move the jaws 57 apart. Withappropriate choice of diameter for the rod, the jaws 57 can be movedapart far enough to release T-shaped member 55, thereby permittingexpansion of the ring 27.

It will be appreciated that, as the ring is expanded, the covers 13, 15will ultimately be released from the respective channels 29, 31 and willdrop out of the ring. However, the radially inward extension of a land61 (shown more clearly in FIG. 1) defined between the two channels 29,31 is chosen such that it defines, at a given expanded position of thering, an opening which is smaller than the covers. Therefore, when thecaddy 11 is horizontally positioned and ring 27 is expanded to the givenexpanded shape, only the bottom cover and the enclosed disc will coverout of the ring under the effect of gravity, the top cover beingretained by the central land 61 as shown in the dotted line ringillustration of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 illustrates a disc record player invention adapted forreproducing signal information which is recorded on the surface of adisc record carried in a caddy in accordance with the present invention.The disc record player may be generally of a type similar to thatdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,835, for F. R. Stave.

The player of FIG. 8 is shown to include a platform 63 mounted on a base65 by means of posts 67. The platform 63 is mounted over a turntable 69at an elevation chosen to allow a signal pickup carriage 71 to moveunobstructed between the turntable and the platform for purposes of discrecord playback.

Platform 63 includes a circular opening 73 which may accommodate a disccaddy in accordance with the present invention. A channel 75 is definedalong the inside rim of the opening 73, the depth of which channel issufficient to receive the expanded ring of the caddy. The wall ofchannel 75 which is nearest the turntable extends radially inwardly ofthe opening 73 to define a ledge which may support a caddy placedthereon in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The top edge of the opening 73may be beveled to facilitate reception of a disc caddy on the ledge.

Platform 63 further includes a recessed portion 79 for accommodation ofthe caddy handle and which recessed portion includes a slot 81 in whicha pair of perpendicularly projecting rods or pins 45, 47 are mounted forlateral movement. Pins 45, 47 are spaced apart such that when a disccaddy having a spring coupled handle 35 is positioned on the platform 63the pins will project through the slots 43 of the caddy handles betweenmembers 39, 41, as shown in FIG. 4.

For the player system to be also able to accommodate a caddy having ahandle 49 embodying the aforementioned lateral lock concept, pin 45 maybe formed with a diameter which will allow sufficient spreading of thejaws 57 to release T-shaped member 55. Pin 47, however, which is to bereceived in the aperture near the base of the T-shaped member, does notrequire any modification. Advantageously, both pins 45, 47 should beconically tipped to ease the reception of the pins in the respectiveapertures.

Pins 45, 47 are urged together by a return spring 85 coupling them atpoints below the platform 63. As shown more clearly in the plan view ofFIG. 9, the pins are also coupled by means of a pair of wires 87, 89,respectively, connecting the pins and a block 91. The wires are passedaround respective sheaves 93 arranged such that when the wires aretensioned, the pins are drawn apart. When the tension on the wires isrelieved, the pins will be drawn together to their respective originalpositions by spring 85.

The mechanism for tensioning the wires includes an over-travel spring 95which is coupled to a link 97 slidably mounted on the bottom of theplatform 63 below a slot 99 provided on the platform. The link 97engages one end of an arm 101 secured to a lid 103 which lid ispivotally mounted on the base 65 for movement between an open positionand a closed position covering the base. It will be appreciated that asthe lid 103 is moved to the closed position, the arm 101 will traveltowards the back end of the base forcing the link 97 to also traveltowards the back end of the base and thereby tensioning the wires 87,89. When the lid is moved to the open position, the arm 101 will travelaway from the back end of the base and will therefore relieve thetension force on link 97 and on wires 87, 89.

With a caddy 11 properly supported on platform 63, the handle will benestled in the recessed portion 79 of the platform with the pins 45, 47projecting through the handle apertures. It will be appreciated that thepositioning of the caddy will force pin 45 through aperture 59 of thehandle, when a handle having the aforementioned lock feature is providedthereby spreading the jaws 57 and releasing T-shaped member 55. As thelid 103 is moved to the closed position, the pins 45, 47 will be drawnapart resulting in the expansion of ring 27 into channel 75 untilfurther expansion is prevented by the surfaces of the channel. In thatgiven expanded position, the lower cover of the caddy and the disc willdrop towards the turntable under the effect of gravity, while the uppercover will be retained at platform level by the radially inwardextension of land 61 (as previously discussed with regard to FIG. 1).When the lid 103 is moved to the open position, the pins 45, 47 will bedrawn together by spring 85 and the ring 27 will, therefore, also returnto its original contracted position. Removal of the cartridge offplatform 63 will result in the latching engagement of jaws 57 withT-shaped member 55 when a caddy with a lock handle is utilized.

While it may be adequate for player system design purposes to utilizethe available gravitational forces to lower a disc from platform levelonto the turntable, it is desirable, to avoid the possibility of discdamage from such a drop, to provide a controlled lowering of the disc.Such a lowering system may be combined with a disc-elevating system forelevating the bottom cover and the disc at the termination of playback,to a level where the disc may be reloaded into the caddy solely bymachine operation.

With reference now to FIGS. 8, 10 and 11, a spindle 105 is shown to beperpendicularly mounted on base 65 centrally of the turntable 69.Spindle 105 comprises an upright cylindrical housing 107 having a trioof equally spaced apart longitudinal slots 109, a hub 111 which isslidably received in the cylindrical housing and a shaft 113 which iscoaxially supported on the hub. A trio of pins 115, supported on hub 111laterally project outside of housing 107 through the respective slots109 while the shaft 113 projects through a central hole in a cover 116which tops the cylindrical housing 107. The turntable 69 is providedwith a central depressed region 117 which is large enough to accommodatethe trio of pins 115 so that the hub 111 may be lowered to a level wherethe pins are below the level of the top surface of the turntable 69.

Shaft 113 cooperates with a boss 119 provided on lid 103 so that whenthe lid is moved to the closed position, the boss will engage shaft 113and will depress it thereby lowering the hub 111. When the lid 103 is inthe closed position, the hub 111 will be at a level where the pins 115are below the top surface of turntable 69, as shown in FIG. 11.Conversely, when the lid 103 is moved to an open position, a coil spring121 provided in the cylindrical housing 107 upwardly moves hub 111 thusraising the pins 115 to platform level above the turntable as shown inFIG. 10.

In the operation of the player, a caddy 11 is positioned on platform 49with cylindrical housing 107 projecting through central openings of thedisc and covers, as shown in FIG. 10. In that position, the handleportion of the caddy will be nested in the recessed portion 79 of theplatform and the pins 115 will engage the lower cover. As the lid ismoved to an intermediate position towards the closed position, the ring27 will be expanded in the manner described above and the caddy coverswill be freed with the result that the lower cover 15 and record disc 21will be supported by pins 115. As the lid is brought to a closedposition, boss 119 will engage shaft 113 depressing it towards base 65.This action will result in a gradual lowering of bottom cover 15 anddisc 21 onto the turntable surface. It will be appreciated that with lid103 in the closed position, pins 115 will be below the level of the topsurface of thrntable 69, thereby allowing lower cover 15 and disc 21 tobe solely supported by turntable 69 for record disc playback purposes asshown in FIG. 11.

Pursuant to an approach explained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,653, entitled,"Lid Latch Mechanism For A Disc Record Player", for Larry Dean Huff, thelid cannot be conventionally opened until the signal pickup carriagereturns to its rest position off the turntable. However, once the signalpickup carriage is at the rest position, the lid 103 may be opened withthe resultant disengagement of the boss 119 and shaft 113. Under theforce of spring 121, hub 111 will be upwardly moved and pins 115 willengage the lower cover 15, and raise it and the disc 21 to a positionsubstantially corresponding to their original positions with respect toplatform 63 prior to ring expansion. When the lid is further moved to anintermediate position towards the open position, the actuation of thering expansion mechanism will cease resulting in the return of the ringto its original contracted shape enclosing the disc 21 between thecovers 13, 15.

In another embodiment for the platform in the player, illustrated inFIG. 12, the channel 75 provided in platform 63 is angularly disposedwith respect to the plane of base 65, represented in FIG. 12 by line b.This disposition of the channel has the effect, when aplatform-supported caddy ring 27 is expanded, of tilting the expandedring such that the top cover 13 will remain held in its respective slot29 by the ring 27 even though the bottom cover 15 is released.

What is claimed is:
 1. A package for a disc record comprising:(A) anexpandable ring having a perimetrical edge wall, and an intermediateflange interposed between a pair of spaced flanges extending inwardlyfrom said edge wall; each of said flanges having a central opening; eachof said spaced flanges defining an annular channel in cooperation withsaid intermediate flange; said expandable ring being subject todisposition in a contracted condition and an expanded condition; and (B)a pair of covers subject to reception within respective ones of saidannular channels when said ring is disposed in said contracted conditionto thereby define a record enclosing cavity therebetween; each of saidcovers being independent of and separable from said ring the dimensionsof said opening in said intermediate flange, when said ring is occupyingeither of said conditions, being so related to the dimensions of saidcovers as to preclude cover passage therethrough; said dimensions ofsaid opening in said intermediate flange, when said ring is disposed insaid expanded condition, being so related to the dimensions of anenclosed record as to permit record passage therethrough; the dimensionsof the respective openings in said spaced flanges, when said ring is insaid contracted condition, being so related to said cover dimensions asto preclude cover passage therethrough; said dimensions of therespective openings in said spaced flanges, when said ring is disposedin said expanded condition, being so related to said cover dimensions asto allow cover passage therethrough; and wherein the expansion of saidring, while being horizontally disposed, frees the lower cover and theenclosed record while retaining the upper cover.
 2. A package inaccordance with claim 13 wherein said ring is a split ring having springelements connecting the parts thereof.
 3. A package as defined in claim1 wherein said ring is a split ring;wherein releasably interlockedhandle sections are provided on respective free end portions of saidsplit ring for maintaining said ring in said contracted condition wheninterlocked.